Psalm 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire your beauty: for he is your Lord; and worship you him. I. ITS NATURE. 1. Its internal principles. There must be reverence, and this in the highest degree, because of its object. Not terror, but sacred awe and delight. And there must be also deep humiliation, for we are sinful creatures. Anything like self-satisfaction and complacency must be offensive to God. See parable of Pharisee and Publican. And such humility has ever characterized God's true worshippers. Another principle of worship for fallen man must be trust in atonement. No acceptable worship ever was presented but through sacrifice. The history of Cain and Abel illustrates this. And thus is it now. All access to God is by the sacrifice of Christ. Then there must be submission, See the attendant seraphim whom Isaiah saw in his vision of "the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up." They were engaged in reverential worship. Another principle is love. Not gratitude alone, but supreme affection delighting in God. 2. Its external manifestations. And here we have — (1) Acts, such as prayer, thanksgiving, commemoration, sitting before the Lord to hear His word, which is a real act of worship, and not as some thoughtlessly say, to be distinguished from it. (2) Places — the closet, the family, the church and the great assembly. II. THE GROUND AND REASON OF WORSHIP. "For He is thy Lord." This declares — 1. The Divine greatness, for the Lord of the Church is Lord of all. 2. His absolute dominion over us. That dominion extends to our being, and to all by which our being can be supported. All the blessings of life are by Him distributed, withheld, restricted, or multiplied, or withdrawn. Our felicity is from the light of His countenance; our pain from the pressure of His hand. 3. He is our Lord legislatively. He has given us a law to obey, a law holy, just and good. And He has sanctioned it by the penalty of eternal death. But as we have broken the law, all the more reason wherefore we should worship. 4. But to the Church especially it may be said, "He is thy Lord." For the Church is a society of such as are actually reconciled to God by Jesus Christ; it is the separated company of pardoned believers. And to this company He stands in the special relation of a gracious Sovereign. III. THE IMPORTANCE OF WORSHIP. We speak now only of public worship. For the proclamation of the great fundamental truths of religion. This, therefore, has ever been felt to be a duty. Good men have struggled, not for mere freedom of opinion, but of worship. Let us uphold the worship of God. Beware of a careless formal service. Seek in it to be increasingly spiritual. (R. Watson.) Parallel Verses KJV: So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.WEB: So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord. |
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